HB 598 -- Tort Actions Against Drug Dealers

Sponsor:  Froelker

This bill establishes statutory causes of actions for victims
and drug users against certain drug dealers.

The bill:

(1) Allows a person injured by a drug user to bring a civil
action against the person who sold the drugs to the drug user.
If the injured party proves the defendant is a drug dealer, the
defendant is presumed to have acted willfully and wantonly in
injuring the plaintiff;

(2) Allows a drug user to bring a civil action against the drug
dealer for damages, if the user has met certain conditions
established by the bill;

(3) Allows persons related to the drug user in certain ways,
after meeting specific proof requirement, to sue the drug dealer
for damages, such as: (1) a parent, legal guardian, child,
spouse, or sibling;  (2) a child whose mother abused drugs while
the child was in utero; (3) an employer; (4) a medical or
treatment facility, insurer, governmental entity, or other
entity providing support; or (5) any person injured by the drug
user; and

(4) Establishes the types of damage awards that are recoverable,
the specific liability standards based on a drug dealer's
illegal controlled substance inventory, the applicability or
inapplicability of federal bankruptcy laws, and the tolling of
the statute of limitations for the bringing of such damage suits.